Melee Weapons

[FuzzyPooka 20]

(I am well aware that there are Melee weapon posts, but these are so besieged by comments, and lacking in information, that I have made a clear, and complete guide to possible and plausible Melee weapons.)

I have come up with many ideas for plausible Melee Weapons (Which will now be referred to as MW). All of these would have a place in the Russian landscape, so would realistically be found throughout the cities, farms, forests, and military bases of Chernarus.

Bladed Weapons: Typically have short range, but strike quickly, inflicting minor damage, with follow up shots rapidly draining your targets health. I would also suggest incorporating a stealth system, for MW only. While the weapon is equipped, you gain a stealth bonus that allows you to get within striking distance if Zeds, and take them out with a single slash. To counter this, you would move at a snails pace, to quite footsteps. As for players, strikes to the back inflict HEAVY bleeding damage(To signify a throat being cut). Follow up strikes depend on weapon. I have 3 possible suggestions of MW.

SwitchBlade- Incredibly close range, fast striking weapon. (Dealing 1000 blood damage per strike(v Human Players) and causing bleeding on 3rd hit) these stats force the player to rely on stealth to strike, as it's combat damage is not ideal. Found in all civilian areas.

Combat Knife- Essentially a upgraded SwitchBlade. More reach, same swing time, and more damage. (Deals 2000 blood damage per strike, and causing bleeding on 2nd hit) a good stealth weapon, but with combat effectiveness if discovered, though only at close range. Found in military areas.

Machete- A cruel weapon that inflicts horrendous injuries, and will ravage humans and Zeds alike. Better range than the 2 previous knifes, and much more damage, at the cost of a slightly slower swing time. (3000 blood loss per strike, causing bleeding on 1st hit.) The Machete is the ideal MW, dealing incredible damage while crippling your enemy. Easily capable of holdings it's own against any combatant in close range. Found rarely in deer-stands and military areas.

Heavy Weapons: These MW focus more on brute power, and savage banzai tactics than stealth. Best for eliminating groups of Zeds, and human enemies in pride of buildings. Strike fast, and. Cripple your opponent before they can strike back. They take up the primary weapon slot, so should be used sparingly, if no other firearms are to be found.

Fire Axe- A crude yet effective makeshift MW that is ideal for Zombie and Human slaying alike. Get close, and slash quickly, using this axes brutal power to and reach to slash enemies. (4000 blood loss per strike, 33% chance to break targets bones) This is a last ditch weapon. Charge and smash everything in reach, in a berserker rage for maximum effect. Found in Firehouses.

Chainsaw- What Zombie game doesnt have a chainsaw? This gas operated saw takes 1 JerryCan to fuel, in exchange for 5 minutes of pure carnage. Start it up as you would a vehicle, and let loose fury. Shred Zombies and players alike. Be warned of how loud the saw is, and be careful with fuel. (5000 blood loss per strike, 100% chance of breaking targets bones) A horrible weapon that will shred any enemy in its path. Found rarely in Farms, Firestations, and lumber mills.

MW should not take the place if guns, but offer a (usually) silent operatunity to eliminate Zeds and foes.

Please post more ideas for possible Melee Weapons, or revise the stats of my weapons. If against, state why.

[Lorebot 2]

I would like to have more melee weapons in the game, but the current inventory system would needs serious revision before any melee weapon (including the currently available hatchet and crowbar) becomes seriously viable for anything other than emergency purposes.

On a side note, you may not know this, but Hollywood has abused and fictionalized the actual functionality of a chainsaw for decades. A chainsaw really wouldn't be that great of a weapon to use in a zombie apocalypse for a few reasons:

1. It's LOUD, as loud or louder than most gunfire. And it has a distinctive sound that any player would recognize and know to engage you from range instead of attempting to sneak up on you.

2. Chainsaws don't Cut, they Tear. That's a big deal when you're dealing with a soft material like flesh. It won't go through flesh as easily as a knife would, and it wouldn't come away from a wound easily. It also doesn't do its work quickly. An axe will chop a limb in 1 clean stroke if delivered accurately and forcefully enough, because a chainsaw tears not cuts it requires a lot of time to get through something.

3. Most modern chainsaws have a specialized clutch system that is built to disengage the chain from the motor when the saw meets a specific kind of resistance. Namely that of flesh. This is a safety measure that was devised and widely adopted by manufacturers in the 90s and it limits the amount of damage a chainsaw can do to a non-wood substance. Unless you know how to disable that clutch mechanism no modern chainsaw will do anything more than superficial wounds to your target.

4. Chainsaws are heavy and unwieldly. If you've ever used one big enough to actually cut down a full grown tree you know it probably weighs in excess of 20lbs and is extremely unbalanced. It's made for careful precision cutting, not the type of swinging that would be required of it in melee combat. Chainsaws are also not built to take the kind of abuse they'd be subject to in melee combat. You'd more than likley bend the chain guide in a few minutes of swinging it around as a weapon, then the chain would come lose and you'd probably injure yourself more with the loose chain than you would anyone or anything else.

5. Chainsaws only have 1 cutting edge, hit someone with the wrong side and you're going to have the saw buck and kick in a way you wouldn't expect it to because the chain is travelling the opposite direction on the back side of the blade.

[FuzzyPooka 20]

The chainsaw is more of a fun formality, and is only there for Hollywood purposes. It IS incredibly loud, and would SHRED TEAR AND MUTILATE everything in the blades path. It is unwieldy, and the noise is supposed to draw attention. It would be more of a way to take on hordes of zombies. And we are in Post-Soviet collapse Russia, not modern America. Safety features likely have not been introduced to the rural settings. It is not more effective than the axe, just a glamorous(yet horrible) alternative.

I am in full agreement of your thoughts on refitting current MW. The axe, I have changed, so it is more effective a tool. I believe the crowbar must become a tool, not a weapon, and Knives are a must, when other bugs are fixed.

[schockie 16]

you people are crazy lol

[FuzzyPooka 20]

Relatively.

[Ophidion 11]

Arma 2 simply can't support that type of combat system right now.

Also, the Chainsaw is actually an awful device for zombies in this case. They sprint, melee in general isn't the best idea. What's the difference between the SAW and the Chainsaw? The SAW can be used from much farther away.

[FuzzyPooka 20]

I was referring to the use of a chainsaw as a saw, not the SAW LMG. Stealth is needed as stated, to make use of an ammoless system of CQ Zombie killing. Arma 2 cannot right now, you are right, but this is more stated to DayZ when in Beta form, and Rocket is not limited to the Arma engine, and has creative freedom to create a authentic apocolypse. What happens when the ammo runs out?

[schockie 16]

thanks for the beans bro :)

[3rdparty 229]

+1 machete!

Although i dunno how they are working the melee system, as so far the axe can be used for cutting wood and i wouldnt be surprised if they figure some use for ze crowbar. Not to mention the knife clearly needs to go in secondary XD

[FuzzyPooka 20]

Agreed.

[Someonerandom 5]

Melee weeps should always cause u to bleed a percent chance system is wrong cus the chance should be 100%. instead of a chance per wep to bleed have each have it's own bleed damage that it causes and allow it to stack ex. Knife causes bleed for 50 blood loss per sec 2nd strike would bump it up to 100 a sec and so on much more realistic and therefore more immersive which is what this game is supposed to be doing

Some weapons to add

- baseball bats

- spears created from wood and sharpened with a knife

- heavy rocks and wood (for those who have no weapons, better than nothing)

Edited August 7, 2012 by Someonerandom

[FuzzyPooka 20]

Makes sense.